Chapter 674: It all comes together.
*Bing-Bong*
The writer of this work would like to apologize for ballooning what was originally going to be three short scenes into three separate chapters.
That being said…this next chapter is directly related to those three prior ones.
Everything that is about to happen is a direct result of the prior chapters actions.
In other words, to everyone who was only watching Zhen Xun Tian at this time, this would be considered one major ass pull.
Enjoy.
*Bing-Bong*
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‘Fucking seriously?,’ Zhen Xun Tian cursed in disbelief. ‘How is this bastard stronger than when I fought him the last time? I’m damn sure we had made it impossible for him to cultivate…unless…’
At this point in time, the two Aether Emperors were still exchanging blows with one another, mid-air, in an attempt to find some kind of opening to exploit but were coming up short. They had even started using low tier aether arts in an attempt to throw each other off.
It was during this exchange of blows though that Zhen Xun Tian quickly threw a glance towards Gao Ao Long’s transplanted arm and swept her aether over it.
Once she found what she was looking for, she clicked her tongue in disapproval.
‘Of fucking course his arm functions like my tattoo. Great…’
Several decades ago, Zhen Xun Tian had defeated the War Elder of the Fallen Clan in an epic battle, defying the odds and cementing her position as the next head of the Zhen Clan.
This story had been told by the Zhen Clan over and over again as a point of pride among the hero makers.
Not only due to the fact that she managed to win despite there being a power gap disparity between herself and the War Elder at the time, but because of how she managed to overpower Gao Ao Long’s secret weapon at the time.
When Gao Ao Long had initially appeared with his newly transplanted “Leviathan Arm”, the Zhen Clan and their allies couldn’t help but bemoan their wretched fates.
Not only had this unusual aether treasure had helped Gao Ao Long breakthrough, but it had a bunch of other weird effects attached to it too.
By itself, the arm enabled Gao Ao Long to channel this weird energy that allowed him to break through even the most intricate of aether barriers with a single punch and tear through [Regalia] as easy as scissors cutting through silk sheets. Additionally, Any warrior that got close to Gao Ao Long would act significantly more crude, rude and reckless, taking actions that would normally be fatal or detrimental to one’s well-being.
Nobody knew exactly how Zhen Xun Tian overcame these advantages, but it cemented her status as a legend when she did.
That being said, if one were to ask her how she managed to do it in the first place though, she would reply that it was all simply a matter of luck.
Days prior to coming into conflict with Gao Ao Long, Zhen Xun Tian had stumbled upon a bit of information as to where he got his dreadfully powerful new arm. At this point in time, Zhen Xun Tian had witnessed the power of his fist firsthand, and the weird power it radiated.
Figuring she had a lot to lose anyways, Zhen Xun Tian decided to go for broke and see if she could find something that could rival Gao Ao Long’s arm from wherever her got it from. Surprisingly though, she wouldn’t need to go any further than her own family’s vault that day.
Whilst preparing to find an aether treasure to use to defend herself while in the depths of the abyssal lands, she came across a strange bottle of ink that she swore was never there before.
This strange ink bottle radiated the same weird energy that Gao Ao Long’s arm did, so through mix of hope and curiosity, Zhen Xun Tian opened the bottle to see exactly what kind of substance could release such an energy. The moment she did though, she instantly blacked out.
Zhen Xun Tian didn’t recall what happened immediately after opening that strange ink bottle.
But the next thing she knew, the bottle of ink was empty and an intricate tattoo that looked like a kraken was emblazoned on her back like a proud war banner.
This tattoo would be the first of many for Zhen Xun Tian, who after that day, became an aficionado in the art of aether tattoos and would go on to become known as the Painted War Goddess. But it should be noted that this first tattoo was the reason why she was able to defeat Gao Ao Long all those years ago, and it was the main reason why she was able to cultivate this far.
Many would consider such a string of events as being predestined, moments of fate as it were. To Zhen Xun Tian, however, it was all just a moment of luck.
Luck that she felt was necessary to win this current conflict.
‘I got lucky when I found that jar, I got lucky when I defeated him last time and I’m damn sure I’m going to need to be lucky again,’ Zhen Xun Tian thought to herself as she kept exchanging blows with Gao Ao Long. (Un)fortunately for her, luck wasn’t going to be a factor for her victory.
*POW! POW! POW! Fwip! POW!*
‘Wait, what? No!’
In a split moment between attacks, Gao Ao Long had suddenly launched an [Tidal Fist] attack down at the ground below their feet.
Zhen Xun Tian had initially assumed this attack was for nothing, until she saw that a young woman from the branch clan had suddenly appeared right beneath their feet.
Gao Ao Long had purposely fired off an attack attack towards the defenseless young woman, in order to force Zhen Xun Tian to either block the attack or die trying. However, this did not come to pass.
[Shock Wave Palm!]
The two Aether Emperors immediately stopped their exchange of blows as Zhen Xun Tian used an art to temporarily push back Gao Ao Long so she could move to rescue this unfortunate young woman.
In the same moment that Zhen Xun Tian was about to move though, at the same time that Gao Ao Long was going to attack her no less, a strange figured dressed in a black [Regalia] suddenly appeared and whisked away the young woman that was originally going to be rendered into paste.
The two Aether Emperors were so surprised by this sudden turn of events, that they both unconciously began to follow the mysterious warriors with their eyes to see what he looked like the moment he stopped running.
However, something else entirely ended up catching their eyes instead. Namely, the sudden appearance of a strange package flying towards them at breakneck speed.
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The package appeared to be a weird bundle attached to some kind of parachute, not that it really matters since it was moving fast enough to make it impossible for most people to intercept. However, it was also slow enough that Zhen Xun Tian could grab it while telling Gao Ao Long to screw off.
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Gao Ao Long was initially just annoyed at the appearance of this sudden package, until Zhen Xun Tian used her aether to open it and reveal its contents to the world, a strange of pair of arms made of carved bones, dragon bones to be more specific.
Gao Ao Long sensed a power coming off these bone arms that felt not only incredibly familiar, but also seemed to cause his transplanted arm to suddenly stiffen up out of stress and fear, for lack of a better term.
‘What the fuck, why it his happening now?!’
Gao Ao Long had dealt with dragon force in the past, but this was the first time that he felt his arm freak out over facing it directly. While he wasn’t entirely sure why this was the case, he could at least tell it was in his best interest to at least distract Zhen Xun Tian long enough to steal that package away from her. Luckily for him, he and the perfect distraction: threatening to slaughter her son and subordinates right in front of her eyes. Evidently, he was so confident he in this particular plan of his working, that he turned to directly address the current leader of his clan.
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Unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t be able to do this plan at all.
In the exact moment he was going to turn and address his clan’s leader, he saw that the High Elders were rescued via a coordinated effort between a pair of Grandmasters and an Aether Lord, none of which he had ever met or seen until this moment. To say he was surprised by this sight was an understatement to say the least.
How the hell did these three people manage to overcome a dozen or so warriors, especially when one of them was an Aether King?!
(Un)fortunately for him, he wouldn’t have to think about this question for too long, as a sudden spike in aether, dragon force and unknown power appeared out of nowhere and stole his focus once again.
A viciously smiling Zhen Xun Tian greeted his gaze.
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